Health

If you follow my blog, you know that I competed in a Paleo Challenge back in January 2011 with the rest of my CrossFit box. I was pretty darn strict with myself: No sugars of any sort (even honey), no grains at all, and no dairy products of any sort. I was very happy with the results. I lost body fat, gained muscle, have more energy, enjoy clear skin, have no more stomach troubles, and just generally feel great when I eat Paleo. It is pretty amazing. My body definitely became leaner and my muscle definition increased considerably. I even got my six pack back! And my strength kept up pretty well, so I continued to see gains in my weightlifting and improvements in my CrossFit WODs. But, the biggest benefit is how I feel. I always knew that I had issues with dairy and had reduced it considerably in my diet. But now I know that I also have issues with wheat. When I finished the challenge, I had some celebration meals that weekend that included grains and dairy. Ouch. I felt lousy for 2-3 days after that. So, I’m staying Paleo and for the best reason of all: I simply feel great when I eat Paleo and avoid grains, dairy, and sugars. It’s pretty easy to avoid those foods now and I don’t feel like I’m denying myself anything. Because it doesn’t matter how good something tastes, if you feel lousy afterwards.

Have you ever struggled with your weight, health, or fitness at any point in your life? If you are a parent (or plan to be one) or a teacher or anyone who has a chance to positively influence a child’s life, what are you doing right now to put them on a lifelong path of…

It is never too late to start working out and taking care of yourself. The American Senior Fitness Association published some interesting findings from research conducted by a cardiologist named Paul Bhella of the JPS Health Network. The key takeaway was that older adults who exercised regularly were able to maintain their “youthful” hearts and even grow stronger hearts if they exercised even more. As with what I’ve shared in past posts, consistency and intensity of exercise make a huge difference.

I started testing my body fat % a few months ago, mostly out of curiosity as I finished a Paleo challenge. About 3 months ago or so, I was at 12-13% which is solid. I knew I had a few more “soft spots” that were lingering. I believe that our love handles love us so much that they have a hard time letting go. For us guys, they seem to be the last ones to leave the party. Well, mine are finally going bye-bye.

I have been doing CrossFit for almost a year and what a journey it has been! For the first 2-3 weeks I was so sore that I seriously couldn’t even walk down stairs. I wish I was exaggerating, but I’m not. I had to find alternative ways to get places. I remember days that I couldn’t lift my arms over my head. I almost quit. I thought I was seriously damaging my body.

Is there anything better than fresh, high-quality meat simply grilled? I’m so glad that the weather has finally turned nice enough that I can grill more often. I usually add an oven-roasted veggie to the mix too.

I found this article by Lyle McDonald on Bodyrecomposition.com very interesting: How Many Carbohydrates Do You Need? It’s a question that I have been asking myself a lot, since I have been following the Paleo diet and actively do CrossFit every week. I wish there was an easy answer, but there isn’t. The answer is “It Depends“. It depends on who you are, your activity level, and what you want to accomplish (e.g., weight loss, endurance running, muscle building, etc.).

I’ve been using a really firm J Fit foam roller for quite some time now. As I wrote about in this post, using a foam roller is a critical useful tool for increasing blood flow and circulation to your muscles and tissues to promote healing. They can also provide “myofascial release”, which is a technique that results in softening and lengthening of the fascia over your muscles. By focusing the roller on places where you are stiff, sore, or are experiencing reduced flexibility; you can break down unwanted adhesions between the fascia and the underlying muscle tissue. At first the foam roller was pretty painful. But after using it for awhile, I’m used to it and it takes a lot more pressure to work on the knots in my muscles.

As I wrote about in “Women and CrossFit – Time to Kill the Weightlifting Myth“, there are many misconceptions and poor role models for women who want to be fit. It isn’t about becoming “skinny” and looking like a supermodel. It is about being healthy, strong, and achieving a level of fitness that is right for you and sustainable for your lifestyle. That is what’s really sexy: Being the strongest you that you can be! So, to prove this point, every week we will feature the strongest and sexiest women as determined by votes from all of you. To participate, you can upload a photo of yourself. Once we approve the photo, it will be available for voting. So, be sure to tell all of your friends about it so that they can come back and vote for you here!

I was playing around with some mangos a few days ago and made this Paleo recipe for Mango Coconut Milk Pudding. I love mangos, but they are a pain to peel and slice up due to the pit inside. So this isn’t a super fast recipe, unless you’re much better at dicing than I am (and you probably are). Enjoy!